New law limits permit fees for rooftop solar

Legislation limiting local permitting fees for rooftop solar installations was among a raft of green energy bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday.

The law limits fees that cities and counties may charge for solar permits to about $400 or slightly more, depending on the size of the rooftop system, under the legislation from Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

To exceed those limits, a local agency must provide detailed evidence of administrative costs and its efforts to streamline permit requests and approvals.

Erratic standards and fees for solar permitting are seen as an obstacle to expanding rooftop solar adoption nationwide.

In San Diego, the California Center for Sustainable Energy is in the midst of a fact finding mission across 11 local government jurisdictions and five utilities aimed at developing uniform permitting and grid connections for home solar arrays. The effort is federally funded.

In addition, the governor's office now publishes a solar permitting guidebook for local agencies.

Brown vetoed another bill designed to foster rooftop solar development, sponsored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, arguing it was better to hold off for more comprehensive reform next year.